The 2021 season didn’t go the way anyone in Gator Nation had hoped for or expected. No matter how pessimistic you are, it was hard to see a scenario where this team finished with a losing record and in the midst of yet another coaching transition, especially after they started the season 3-1 with a near miss against Alabama.
While it’s understandable that you might want to look forward to the future of the program under Billy Napier and never read another word about the 2021 season, there are some individuals who deserve to be recognized for their strong individual performances one final time.
So, without further ado, here are my end-of-season superlatives for the 2021 Gators.
Offensive Player of the Year
Dameon Pierce
Pierce was the biggest bright spot on an offense that was marred by inconsistency.
He led the running backs with 100 carries for 574 yards and 13 touchdowns. After not being much of a receiving threat during his first three seasons, he caught 19 passes for 216 yards and three scores in 2021. His 16 total touchdowns are tied for third in the SEC with Alabama’s Brian Robinson.
Even when the season collapsed in October, you could always count on Pierce to give his best effort, usually with a big smile on his face.
Pro Football Focus graded him as the top running back in the country following the regular season.
The only problem with Pierce’s season is that he didn’t touch the ball enough. There were 23 SEC players who carried the ball more than him, including five with more than 200 carries. Pierce should’ve been one of them, and it’s a shame that we’ll never know just how dominant he could’ve been with a greater workload.
Defensive Player of the Year
Zachary Carter
He staked his claim as the Gators’ best defensive player when he made three sacks in the opener against Florida Atlantic, and he never relinquished that title.
Carter finished the season ranked second on the team with eight sacks and 11 tackles-for-loss. If not for his decision to sit out the Gasparilla Bowl, he might’ve led the team in those categories. He was credited for at least a half of a tackle-for-loss in nine of the 12 games that he played in.
His rare combination of strength and athleticism allowed him to cause matchup problems for opposing offensive lines.
Despite being one of the focal points of opposing scouting reports, he produced all season long and figures to hear his name called fairly early in the upcoming draft.
Special Teams Player of the Year
Jeremy Crawshaw
Ideally, you’d like for your most outstanding special teams performer to be a game-breaking returner or a kicker who made a long field goal to win a game. Unfortunately for the Gators (and fortunately for Crawshaw), the special teams units were a trainwreck, which makes Crawshaw the winner almost by default.
In his first season as the starting punter, he ranked sixth in the SEC with a gross average of 44.1 yards per punt. His 69-yarder against Vanderbilt was the third-longest in the conference this season.
Crawshaw blasted 20 punts of at least 50 yards and had 20 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He also rushed for 28 yards on a fake punt against Vanderbilt.
He was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team for his performance.
Freshman of the Year
Jason Marshall
He was the only true freshman who contributed extensively, which made him the easy choice for this award.
The former five-star recruit lived up to the hype in year one. He appeared in all 13 games and made five starts at cornerback.
Marshall displayed solid man-to-man coverage skills throughout the year and didn’t have any major coverage busts. He broke up three passes and intercepted a pass against Florida State on a contested ball down the sideline.
He’ll be an excellent building block for Billy Napier’s defense, and he should only get better as he works with new cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond, who is widely considered among the best defensive back coaches in the country.
Biggest Surprise (Offense)
Rick Wells
Wells caught nine passes in his first five years on campus combined. He caught 24 passes for 259 yards and the only three touchdowns of his career in 2021. He caught at least one pass in 10 of the 11 games that he played in.
In a receiving room that included higher-profile players such as Jacob Copeland, Justin Shorter, Xzavier Henderson, Trent Whittemore and even freshman Marcus Burke, Wells finally carved out a role for himself. He was one of Emory Jones’ favorite targets, and he finished fifth on the team in receptions and in yards.
He might not have posted eye-popping statistics, but he contributed a lot more than most fans were probably expecting him to.
Wells’ college career probably didn’t go the way that he anticipated, but he finished on a high note.
Biggest Surprise (Defense)
Brenton Cox
Cox underwhelmed quite a bit for most of the season. He only made 1 ½ sacks and 4 ½ tackles-for-loss in the first nine games. He went four consecutive games without making a tackle behind the line of scrimmage at one point. He still experienced major issues with setting the edge against the run.
Then, it was like he flipped a switch over the final four games. He made a sack in each game after Todd Grantham was fired, including four sacks against Florida State, the most in a game in school history since sacks became an official statistic. He wrapped up the season with four tackles-for-loss against UCF.
He used that strong finish to the season to explode past Carter for the team lead in sacks (8 ½) and tackles-for-loss (14 ½).
Has Cox turned the corner, or was the four-game hot streak merely an aberration? If it’s the former, the Gators will have a terrific pass rusher to build their defense around next season.
Most Entertaining
Dameon Pierce
The best players aren’t always the most entertaining. For example, last year, I would’ve had Kyle Trask as the offensive player of the year but Kyle Pitts as the most entertaining player.
In 2021, however, Pierce happened to be both. Between his hilarious interactions with the media and his extremely physical running style, you can really feel Pierce’s love for the game. In an era dominated by big-money NIL deals and opt-outs, I get the sense that Pierce would play the game for free forever if he had to.
How many players would dive headfirst into the end zone without a helmet like he did against Florida State?
If the Gators had 100 more players just like him, they would’ve accomplished a lot more as a team.